The Grand Canyon is a massive — in places over a mile (1,609 m) deep — 277 miles (446 km) long rift in the Colorado Plateau that exposes uplifted Proterozoic and Paleozoic strata. The Grand Canyon is unmatched throughout the world for the vistas it offers to visitors on the rim. It is not the deepest canyon in the world — both the Barranca del Cobre in Northern Mexico and Hell's Canyon in Idaho are deeper — but Grand Canyon is known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colorful landscape. Geologically it is significant because of the thick sequence of ancient rocks that are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. These rock layers record much of the early geologic history of the North American continent. Grand Canyon is also one of the most spectacular examples of natural erosion in the world.

Uplift associated with mountain building events later moved these sediments thousands of feet upward and created the Colorado Plateau. The higher elevation has also resulted in greater precipitation in the Colorado River drainage area, but not enough to change the Grand Canyon area from being semi-arid. The uplift of the Colorado Plateau is uneven, and the north-south trending Kaibab Plateau that Grand Canyon bisects is over a thousand feet higher at the North Rim (about 1,000 ft/300 m) than at the South Rim. The fact that the Colorado River flows in a curve around the higher North Rim part of the Kaibab Plateau and closer to the South Rim part of the plateau is also explained by this asymmetry. Ivo Lucchitta of the U.S. Geological Survey first suggested that, as the Colorado River developed before significant erosion of the region, it naturally found its way across or around the Kaibab Uplift by following a "racetrack" path to the south of the highest part of the plateau. Almost all runoff from the North Rim (which also gets more rain and snow) flows toward the Grand Canyon, while much of the runoff on the plateau behind the South Rim flows away from the canyon (following the general tilt). The result is deeper and longer tributary washes and canyons on the north side and shorter and steeper side canyons on the south side.

Temperatures on the North Rim are generally lower than the South Rim because of the greater elevation (averaging 8,000 ft/2,438 m above sea level). Heavy rains are common on both rims during the summer months. Access to the North Rim via the primary route leading to the canyon (Arizona State Route 67) is limited during the winter season due to road closures. Views from the North Rim tend to give a better impression of the expanse of the canyon than those from the South Rim.

Nickname(s): The Grand Canyon State, The Copper StateOfficial Language(s): None Capital: Phoenix Largest City: Phoenix Area: ranked 6th Total: 113,998 square miles (295,254 square km) Width: 310 miles (500 square km) Lenght: 400 miles (645 square km) Percentage water: 0.32 Latitude: 31 degree 20' N to 37 degree N Longitude: 109 degree 3' W to 114 degree 50' W Population: ranked 20th Total (2000): 5,130,632 Density: 45.2 square miles (17.43 square km) ranked 36th Elevation: Highest Point: Humphrey Peaks 12,633 ft (3,851 m) Mean Point: 4,100 ft (1,250 m) Lowest Point: ColoradoRiver 70 ft (21m) Admission to Union: February 14, 1912 Time Zone: Mountain UTC 7 Abbreviations: AZ US- AZ Website: www.az.gov Animal: Ringtail Bird: Cactus Wren Butterfly: Two-Tailed Swallowtail Fish: Apache Trout Flower: saguoro Blossom Furbearer: Ringtail Cat Grass: none Insect: Two-Tailed Swallowtail Reptile: Ridgenose Rattlesnake Tree: Palo Verde Wildflower: None Beverage: None Colors: Blue, Old Gold Dance: Unknown Fossil: Petrified Wood Gemstone: Turquoise Mineral: Fire Agate Motto: DITAT DEUS (Gold Enriches) Musical Instrument: None Neckware: Bola Tie Rock: Petrified Wood Game: Unknown Ship(s): 3 Navy Ships named USS Arizona Song(s): "Arizona March Song", "Arizona" Soil: Arizona Casa Grande Tartan: None Waltz: NoneArizona is a located in the Southwestern United States. It is best known for its desert landscape, including cacti. Arizona is also known for its exceptional hot summers and mild winters. Less well known is the pine-covered high country in the north-central portion of the state, which contrasts with the lower deserts of the state. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states, situated south and east of the Colorado River. It borders New-Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile (626 km) international border with Mexico. Aside from the Grand Canyon, many other National Forests, Parks, Monuments, and Indian Reservations are located in the state. Arizona was the 48th state admitted in the U.S. (1912) and the last of the contiguous states to be admitted in the Union.Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States. It is best known for its desert landscape, including cacti. Arizona is also known for its exceptional hot summers and mild winters. Less well known is the pine-covered high country in the north-central portion of the state, which contrasts with the lower deserts of the state. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states, situated south and east of the Colorado River. It borders New-Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, touches Colorado, and has a 389-mile (626 km) international border with Mexico. Aside from the Grand Canyon, many other National Forests, Parks, Monuments, and Indian Reservations are located in the state. Arizona was the 48th state admitted in the U.S. (1912) and the last of the contiguous states to be admitted in the Union.

Of the 118,000 square miles, approximately 15% is privately owned. The remaining area is government forest and park land, recreation areas and Native American Reservations. Like other states of the Southwest, Arizona has an abundance of topographical characteristics in addition to its desert climes. More than half of the state features mountains and plateaus and contains the largest stand of Ponderosa pine in the United States. The Mogollan Rim, a 2000-foot (600 m) escarpment, cuts across the central section of the state and marks the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, where the state has experienced its worst forest fire ever in 2002. Arizona belongs firmly within the Basin and Range Province of North America. The region was shaped by prehistoric volcanism, followed by a cooling-off and related subsidence. The entire region is slowly sinking. The Grand Canyon is a colorful, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in northern Arizona. The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and is largely contained in the Grand Canyon National Park - one of the first National Parks in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of the Grand Canyon area, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery. The Canyon, created by the Colorado River cutting a channel over millions of years, is about 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6 to 29 km) and attains a depth of more than 1 mile (1.6 km). Nearly 2 billion years of the Earth's history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of sediment as the Colorado Plateaus have uplifted. Arizona does not observe Daylight Saving Time, except in the Navajo nation located in the northeastern region of the state.

There is some disagreement over the proper etymology of the name "Arizona." The two most likely explanations are that it derives from a Basque phrase aritz onak, "good oaks" or that it comes from an O'odham phrase ali ?onak, "small spring". The former etymology is the one preferred by Arizona state historian Marshall Trimble, among other specialists. The name Arizonac was initially applied to the silver mining camp, and later (shortened to Arizona) to the entire territory.Meeting its original native inhabitants, Marcos de Niza, a Spanish Franciscan, explored the area in 1539. The expedition of Spanish explorer Coronado entered the area in 1540–42 during its search for Cíbola. Father Kino developed a chain of missions and taught the Indians Christianity in Pimería Alta (now southern Arizona and northern Sonora) in the 1690s and early 1700s. Spain founded fortified towns (presidios) at Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775. When Mexico achieved its independence from Spain in 1821, what is now Arizona became part of the Mexican State Nueva California, also known as Alta California. In the Mexican–American War (1847), the U.S. occupied Mexico City and forced the newly founded Mexican Republic to give up its northern territories, including the later Arizona. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) specified that the U.S. pay Mexico the sum of $15 Million US in compensation. In 1853 the land below the Gila River was acquired from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase. Arizona was administered as part of the Territory of New Mexico until southern New Mexico seceded from the Union as the Confederate Territory of Arizona on March 16, 1861. This is the first official use of the name. A new Arizona Territory, consisting of the western half of New Mexico Territory was declared in Washington, D.C. on February 24, 1863. The new boundaries would later form the basis of the state.Other names including "Gadsonia", "Pimeria", "Montezuma", "Arizuma", and "Arizonia" had been considered for the territory, however when President Lincoln signed the final bill, it read "Arizona", and the name became permanent. (Montezuma was not the Mexican Emperor, but the sacred name of a divine hero to the Pueblo people of the Gila valley, and was probably considered — and rejected — for its sentimental value, before the name "Arizona" was settled upon.)Brigham Young sent Mormons to Arizona in the mid-to-late 19th century. They founded Mesa, Snowflake, Heber, Safford and other towns. They also settled in the Phoenix Valley (or "Valley of the Sun"), Tempe, Prescott, among other areas. The Mormons settled what became known as Northern Arizona and northern New Mexico, but these areas were located in a part of the former New Mexico Territory. The largest ancestry of these settlers is German American.Arizona became a U.S. state on February 14, 1912. Arizona was the 48th state admitted into the U.S. and the last of the contiguous states admitted. Cotton farming and copper mining, two of Arizona's most important statewide industries, suffered heavily during the Great Depression, but it was during the 1920s and 1930s that tourism began to be the important Arizona industry it is today. Dude ranches such as the K L Bar and Remuda in Wickenburg, along with the Flying V and Tanque Verde in Tucson, gave tourists the chance to experience the flavor and life of the "old West." Several upscale hotels and resorts opened during this period, some of which are still top tourist draws to this day; they include the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in central Phoenix (opened 1929) and the Wigwam Resort on the west side of the Phoenix area (opened 1936). Arizona was the site of German and Italian POW camps during World War II and Japanese US-resident internment camps (for national security during the time of martial law). The Phoenix area site was purchased after the war by the Maytag family (of major home appliance fame), and is currently utilized as the Phoenix Zoo. A Japanese American internment camp was located on Mount Lemmon, just outside of the state's southeastern city of Tucson. Another POW camp was located near the Gila River in eastern Yuma County. Because of California's proximity to Japan, a line was drawn somewhat parallel to the California border, and all Japanese residents west of that line were required to reside in the war camps. Grand Avenue, (perhaps because of it's similarity to the California border) was chosen as part of that boundary, which resulted in many extended Japanese families being separated; some interned, some free--and some free families, in and odd bid for family values, requested to be interrned to stay with their families at a camp built by the original Dell Webb Co., a modern manufacturer of large housing developments). Arizona's population grew tremendously after World War II, in part because of the development of air conditioning, which made the intense summers more comfortable. According to the Arizona Blue Book (published by the Secretary of State's office each year), the state population in 1910 was 294,353. By 1970, it was 1,752,122. The percentage growth each decade averaged about 20% in the earlier decades and about 60% each decade thereafter.The 1960s saw the establishment of retirement communities, special age-restricted subdivisions catering exclusively to the needs of senior citizens who wanted to escape the harsh winters of the Midwest and the Northeast. Sun City, established by developer Del Webb and opened in 1960 was one of the first such communities. Green Valley, south of Tucson, was another such community designed to be a retirement subdivision for Arizona's teachers. (Many of these senior citizens arrive in Arizona each winter and stay only during the winter months; they are referred to as snowbirds.)Three ships named USS Arizona have been named in honor of the state, although only USS Arizona (BB-39) was so named after statehood was achieved.